is the “Shield of David” rarely known as ‘Solomon’s
Seal.’ The Star of David is a hexa-angular star, also
called a hexagram, and is the recognized symbol of
Jewry today, found in many Jewish and Messianic
homes, in all Jewish synagogues and Messianic
congregations, and is the ensign of the restored
national Jewish homeland, the modern state of
Israel as waved on its blue and white flag. The Israeli
equivalent of the Red Cross is the Red Magen David.
There are many theories to the origin and meaning of
the Star of David:
over the universe in all six directions.
triangle [A]. David’s name began and ended with the dalet, and since David was a man of war, greatly feared by the nations
which flew their own pendant, the Star of David, consisting of two triangular dalets, was chosen as an effective symbol of
warfare. It is suggested that the symbol was not used religiously until centuries later. However, the Hebrew people, and
especially the runner of Messiah, David, did not see a ‘separation of church and state,’ but a kingdom.
(2) Symbolic Rabbinic Judaism (which is divergent from Biblical Judaism) suggests that the two triangles demonstrate
the two realms, the top triangle strivings upward, toward God, while the lower triangle strives downward, toward the real
world. Medieval alchemists borrowed the talmudic pun-ish mayim, fiery water, and shamayim or heaven to demonstrate
the inter-penetration of the two realms. Because of this symbolism the Mogen David brandy/wine evolved. The two triangles
became symbolic of the Jewish people, intertwining and inseparable the three sides represent Jews: The Kohanim or
Priests, the Levites, and the common people, Israel.
(3) Mystical intertwined, equilateral, triangles are thought to be a good omen, to bring good luck in the Middle East and
Africa. Jewish mystics used the hexagram as a magical protection against demons, often inscribed on the outside of
mezuzot and on amulets. Present day cults use the pentagram or five-pointed star as such a mystical symbol. Some even
claim the six-pointed Star of David represents God, while the five-pointed star represents Satan.
(4) Sensational. The Star of David is suggested to represent Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah of Israel. A passage in
Numbers (24:17) speaks of a star rising from Jacob, a scepter from Israel; the wise men [magi] saw His star and came to
worship Him. In medieval times, on shabbat, German Jews would light a Judenstern (“Jewish star”) or a star-shaped
brass oil lamp emblematic of the messianic age to come. The Star of David was popular with the followers of the [false]
messiah, Shabbatai Tzevi in the 17th century due to its messianic implications.
(5) Official (digressing to its genesis) Today, the Jewish symbol and ensign on the flag of modern Israel is embraced by
Jews in general, many branches of Judaism in particular (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Karaite, Hasidic,
Messianic), and a myriad of Jewish missions and ministries (like Messianic Ministry to Israel) due to its derivation from or
a sign of the Davidic throne and kingdom believed to be prophetic/futuristic. Messianics (Jewish believers in Yeshua)
anticipate the literal return of Yeshua to Israel, to Jerusalem, to the Temple Mount, to restore the Davidic throne and
Kingdom. Yeshua will reign for a literal one-thousand years as Son of David, yet Lord of the earth, the new Adam in the
land. This is called the millennial kingdom. It is suggested by many that the Star of David is not ancient, but a relatively new
Jewish symbol; that the symbol is so rare in early literature and art that forgery is suspicioned when later works of art or
literature are found containing the icon. 20th and 19th Centuries AD – Russia, Romania, France, Germany and other anti-
Semitic countries were hosting violent pogroms. A movement began initiated by, Theodore Herzl, the father of Zionism.
Herzl chose the Star of David as the symbol of Zionism; in 1897 the Magen David was adopted as the emblem of the
Zionist movement though the symbol remained to be a subject of controversy for years (scriptural basis; religious content;
secular acceptance). Jews and non-Jews recognized the Star of David as an occurring Jewish symbol. During the
Holocaust years (1939-1945) the nazi regime required that all Jews wear the yellow Star of David as the identifying badge.
Following the Holocaust, modern Israel transitioned the symbol into a badge of honor to caricature the Jewish people.
Franz Rosenzweig composed his philosophy in Star of Redemption (1912) and the Jewish star symbolized the basis of
Jewish faith: creation, revelation, and redemption. Christian X (1870-1947), king of Denmark (1912-1947) and Iceland
(1918-1944), son and successor of Frederick VIII, born near Copenhagen, was the dignified if powerless symbol of
national unity, and supposedly wore the Star of David to express solidarity with his Jewish subjects. 13th - 18th Centuries
AD – ‘Christians’ of Europe forced Jews to wear this distinguishable icon in order to identify Jewish ethnicity for the
purpose of preserving religious and ethnic allocations. During the Middle Ages the Jewish hexagram or Star of David was
specifically a Jewish symbol used in and on synagogues (as a cross is used Church roofs today), in art, in decoration, as
a magical symbol, and even as an astrological symbol, a big star. In the early 1300s Emperor Charles IV of Czechoslovakia
permitted the Jewish community to create and fly their own flag of red and gold, two six-pointed stars, to welcome the king
to the city of Prague. A similar flag remains to this day in the oldest synagogue in Prague, the Altneuschul. Tombstones in
cemeteries were festooned with the Star of David, and the Star of David spread to the Jewish communities of Moravia and
Bohemia and then eventually to Europe. In the 17th century the Jewish and Christian quarters in Vienna were separated by
a boundary stone inscribed with a hexagram on one side and a cross on the other. Pogroms, government and church
supported riots on Jews, forced the Hebraic people in many countries to wear the yellow Star of David outwardly on their
clothing. The French Enlightenment period gave Jewish people an enormous freedom, a new-world in which to thrive.
Jews were allowed to go to the universities, to become professionals, to be ‘Frenchmen,’ to be treated equal. The
distinguishable marks disappeared, though the Jews chose to embrace the six-pointed star as their design with their
emancipation. Ninth Century AD – Islamic Khalif, Al Mutawakkil, ruled an Islamic Middle East. To distinguish themselves
from other peoples in Israel, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, etc. Jews and Christians wore distinctive marks to preserve religion
and ethnicity. This may have been the first occasion for Jewish people to have a mark First and Second Centuries AD –
Scholars have attempted to trace the Star of David to Rabbi Akiva and the Bar Kockba (“son the star”) rebellion against
Rome’s Hadrian. Others suggest that the Star of David evolved from kabbalah and kabbalists like Rabbi Isaac Luria (16th
century). No Jewish writings or artifacts document this claim. Sixth Century BC – The earliest known Jewish use of the
hexagram was as a seal in ancient Israel, and in a synagogue frieze in Capernaum where a swastika type motif also
appears. However, these hexagrams may have been only ornamental designs. Many like, C. E. Legends connect this
symbol with the “Seal of Solomon,” the magical signet ring used by Solomon, memorializing his father, David. Another
theory is that King Solomon’s signet ring was inscribed with the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, the four-letter name of God, and
that the hexagram or Star of David was used on medieval amulets where it began. 2nd Century BC - If one travels to the
land of Israel and views the many ancient ruins unearthed, he or she will discover Jewish symbol on the archeological
finds. At one sight in particular, Capernaum, a tourist may see and photograph millennia old stones, some inscribed with
menorahs, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Star of David. Bronze Age – The Star of David was used in the ancient world
from Mesopotamia to Britain The Opposition – It is the opinion of non-Jews that the Magen David is mystical, an occult
symbol. Among the Jewish people it is deemed by a few as unkosher. However, the only satanic inference of the symbol is
that instigated by so called ‘Christians’ who attacked the Jews, promoted the pogroms, made Jews to wear the symbol,
and murdered the descendants of Abraham The hexagram first appears as a magical symbol in the early Middle Ages,
especially in Muslim and Christian countries, and was used on notarial seals as well as for architectural decoration on
churches. It appears that the hexagram was employed even earlier by the Karraite Judah Hadassi in the mid-12th century in
connection with amulets and names for God. However, at this time it did not symbolize either God or the Jewish people; its
precise meaning is unclear, but scholars have suggested that it suggested God's protecting power, hence the association
with a "shield." The star was also employed in Kabbalah at this time; the ten sefirot were arranged within the six-pointed
star and it was used in amulets. It further appears that the hexagram and pentagram were used interchangeably until this
period, and then the six-pointed star gained favor, as it was associated with the notion of a "shield" of God and taken to
have magical powers when used as an amulet. From the 14th century through the 18th century, the terms "shield of David"
and "seal of Solomon" were used in magical texts indiscriminately though the hexagram ascended in popularity as the
pentagram diminished in popularity. It is in this context that the Prague Jewish community chose to use the hexagram as
its symbol when King Charles IV granted them the privilege of having their own flag in 1354. Theodor Herzl popularized the
symbol when he chose it to represent his new Zionist Movement. The first issue of the Zionist journal Die Welt, featured a
Magen David. In the 19th century, Jews wanted to have a simple geometric symbol to identify Judaism in the manner in
which the Christian community employed the cross. The hexagram served that purpose well. The philosopher Franz
Rosenzweig employed the star as a motif for structuring his ideas about the relationships between God, Jews, and the
world, in a work entitled Der Stern der Erloesung (The Star of Redemption, 1921). During the Nazi era, Jews were forced to
sew yellow six-pointed stars to their clothing in order to identify them as Jews and separate them from the rest of the
population. This facilitated rounding Jews up for transportation to ghettos, concentration camps and death camps. It was
intended to be a sign of humiliation. Shortly after World War II, however, the star was placed on a field of white between two
blue stripes (the white field and blue stripes symbolizing the tallit) becoming the flag of the newly reborn State of Israel,
once again a symbol of pride and belonging. Today, the six-pointed star is a proud symbol of an ancient heritage and is
used to adorn and decorate many ritual objects. It has even been used as the basis of architectural plans for synagogues
and other buildings of the Jewish community.
stands as a reminder that for the Jewish people... in God we trust.
collection of artefacts which had been recovered from a cave on Mount Zion. Many of the pieces were marked with a
previously unknown symbol which comprised the menorah at the top, the fish at the bottom, with the two joined in the Star of
David. Schneider was convinced that this was a symbol of the first Jewish-Christian congregation.
The Menorah (candelabra) represents God’s covenant with the people of Israel and the torah. The fish is a symbol for
Yeshua, from the Greek word for fish, icthys, which was used as an acronym for Iosus Cristos, Son of God, saviour. The Star
of David, Magen David, literally Shield of David, represents Israel and particularly the Davidic kingdom.
This fusion of symbols speaks of the joining together of Jew and Gentile in the atonement of Yeshua, who has broken down
the wall of partition.
For more information, please visit informed messianic websites, like the following, for a clear understanding on a subject
basically unknown to most Christians and Jews alike.
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/
http://www.levitt.com/
http://www.jewishvoice.org/
http://www.wildolive.co.uk/
[May] The Lord make His Face shine upon you and be gracious to you
[May] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you...
and give you peace.
